Four Minnesota writers win NEA grants

Many other Minnesota institutions--from Coffee House Press to the Mankato Symphony Orchestra--also won grants.

December 13, 2016 at 11:42PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Michael Bazzett. Star Tribune file photo.
Michael Bazzett. Star Tribune file photo. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Four Minnesota writers and three Minnesota publishers have won awards from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Poets Michael Bazzett, Chris Martin, Hieu Minh Nguyen and Danez Smith have each received awards of $25,000 in support of their work. Bazzett is the author of "You Must Remember This," winner of the 2014 Lindquist & Vennum Prize through Milkweed Editions.

Martin has been a Coffee House Press poet-in-the-stacks and is the author of "American Music" (Copper Canyon Press) and "Becoming Weather" (Coffee House).

Hieu Minh Nguyen is the author of "This Way to the Sugar" (Write Bloody Press) which was a finalist for both a Minnesota Book Awards and a Lambda Literary Awards.

And Danez Smith is the author of "[insert] Boy" (YesYes Books), winner of the Lambda Literary Award and the Kate Tufts Discovery Award.

The Minneapolis journal Rain Taxi received a $15,000 award. Milkweed Editions received $25,000, Graywolf Press received $80,000, and Coffee House Press received $80,000.

The entire list of grants can be found here.

about the writer

about the writer

Laurie Hertzel

Senior Editor

Freelance writer and former Star Tribune books editor Laurie Hertzel is at lauriehertzel@gmail.com.

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